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| National Assembly deputies press the buttons to vote on a resolution amending and supplementing a number of articles of the 2013 Constitution on June 16, 2025__Photo: VNA |
On March 10, the Politburo issued Conclusion 09-KL/TW on improving the structure of Vietnam’s legal system to meet national development requirements in the new era. The document marks a significant shift in legislative thinking, aiming to build a modern, coherent and transparent legal framework capable of supporting rapid and sustainable development while enhancing the country’s competitiveness.
At its core, Conclusion 09 reflects a strategic vision: transforming the legal system into a proactive driver of development. While Vietnam’s legal framework has been continuously improved in recent years, the Politburo acknowledged that its current structure remains relatively cumbersome and multi-layered, with poor internal consistency. In some cases, the hierarchy of legal effect is not clearly defined, causing difficulties in both law-making and law enforcement.
In order to establish a solid legal foundation capable of sustaining economic growth of over 10 per cent annually and enabling Vietnam to become a socialist-oriented, developed, high-income country by 2045, it is necessary to further restructure the legal system.
The overarching objective is to build a modern, rational and scientific legal structure that covers all areas of social life. This will serve as a prerequisite for a democratic, fair, streamlined, unified, synchronised, feasible, transparent, stable and accessible legal system that effectively protects human rights and citizens’ rights, ensures national defence and security, facilitates international integration, and promotes development. Ultimately, the law is expected to become a competitive advantage supporting rapid and sustainable national growth in the coming period.
Major orientations for legal system reform
Building a streamlined, coherent and accessible legal structure
One of the key orientations set out in Conclusion 09 is the restructuring of the legal system within a clearer hierarchy of legal sources. This includes not only legal documents, ranging from the Constitution to sub-law instruments, but also supplementary sources such as precedents, customary practices and principles of equity.
The expansion and clarification of these supplementary sources represent a notable step towards enhancing legal flexibility, particularly in areas where statutory provisions remain ambiguous. The conclusion also introduces a principle for resolving conflicts of laws, prioritising specialised legal norms over general ones. At the same time, it emphasises the need to simplify the system of legal documents, ensuring that each competent authority issues only one form of legal instrument, thereby reducing overlaps and inconsistencies.
Another key direction is the clearer distinction between public law and private law. Public law norms, governing relations between state agencies or between the State and individuals or organisations, should be specific, transparent and stringent, ensuring effective empowerment of state authorities and mechanisms to prevent abuse of power. Meanwhile, private law norms should primarily establish an in-principle legal framework, allowing the involved entities to determine specific arrangements based on their needs and interests, provided they do not violate legal prohibitions.
The conclusion also reiterates the fundamental principle of the supremacy of the Constitution and law and identifies several foundational codes, including the Civil Code, the Penal Code, the Civil Procedure Code, the Criminal Procedure Code and the Law on Administrative Procedures, as the core pillars of the legal system. These laws not only contain detailed provisions but also establish guiding principles for the broader legal framework.
Considering law a driver of development
Beyond structural reforms, Conclusion 09 underscores a broader ambition: positioning law as a “leading force” in national development.
In this context, efforts should be intensified to improve regulations that facilitate development, enabling the legal system to act as a “pioneer” and a competitive advantage. The competent authorities should issue specific policies and regulatory sandbox mechanisms to foster new production forces, economic sectors and priority development areas.
Priority should be given to developing a coherent legal framework that facilitates the operation of a three-tier government model as well as investment and business activities, with the goal of placing Vietnam among the top three ASEAN countries in terms of investment climate by 2028.
Importantly, it is also necessary to clearly delineate which issues must be governed by law and which may be regulated by sub-law instruments, thereby enhancing legal clarity and predictability.
Reforming the legislative process towards professionalism and effectiveness
Conclusion 09 calls for further reform of the organisation and operation of the National Assembly (NA) in legislative activities, including increasing the number of sessions and expanding online meeting formats.
According to NA deputy Nguyen Thi Viet Nga, this reflects a shift from a “cyclical” model of law-making - concentrated in a few sessions each year - to a model of continuous legislation that is more flexible and responsive to practical developments.
“In my view, Conclusion 09 is not merely a technical adjustment to the organisation of parliamentary sessions, but a fundamental transformation in legislative thinking,” she said in a recent interview with the press.
Increasing the number of sessions, particularly when combined with digital tools, will help reduce policy lag in a rapidly changing socio-economic context. It will also improve the quality of legislative deliberation, as draft laws can be discussed more thoroughly and across multiple rounds. “This is crucial, because the quality of legislation depends not only on the content of draft laws, but also on the depth of parliamentary debate,” she noted.
Meanwhile, the expansion of online meetings is expected to accelerate digital transformation within the NA, enabling more transparent and cost-effective operations.
Conclusion 09 also highlights the importance of enhancing the role of full-time NA deputies and NA deputies’ delegations, a point that Nga described as “both timely and well-founded”.
“If the legal system is viewed as a major construction project, then full-time NA deputies are the designers and quality supervisors of that project,” she said.
Full-time NA deputies, who are able to dedicate their entire time to legislative work, play a crucial role in policy research, appraisal and debate. Their contributions are often among the most substantive and insightful in parliamentary discussions. At the same time, NA deputies’ delegations serve as an essential bridge between central authorities’ policy-making and local realities. Through voter engagement and field surveys, they can identify issues emerging from the grassroots level, ensuring that legislation remains closely aligned with real-life needs.
“It is important to clearly define that full-time NA deputies contribute to policy depth, while NA deputies’ delegations ensure practicality and representativeness. The combination of these two elements will determine the overall quality of the legal system,” she added.
The conclusion also stresses the need to improve mechanisms for interpreting the Constitution, laws and ordinances, as well as for guiding their implementation, with clear identification of competent authorities, principles and procedures.
Furthermore, mechanisms should be studied to allow the NA Standing Committee and the Government to issue legal documents adjusting statutory provisions in urgent cases in which NA cannot convene, or to address technical issues arising in practice, subject to subsequent reporting to the NA.
Close linkage must be ensured between law-making and law enforcement. Policy communication should be strengthened; the capacity of personnel engaged in legal drafting enhanced; professionalism improved; post-enactment evaluation mechanisms established; and digital transformation accelerated, including the development of legal big-data databases and the application of artificial intelligence.
A foundation for the next stage of development
Ultimately, Conclusion 09 represents more than a technical reform of the legal system. It reflects a broader effort to align Vietnam’s institutional framework with the demands of a rapidly evolving socio-economic landscape.
By restructuring the legal system, strengthening legislative processes and enhancing the role of key actors within the NA, Vietnam aims to build a legal foundation that not only regulates but also drives development. If successfully implemented, the orientations set out in Conclusion 09 could mark a decisive step towards a more modern, effective and development-oriented legal system in the years ahead.-
